Benny Feilhaber became the latest U.S. national team player to be bitten by the injury bug on Monday, and could wind up missing the United States' upcoming friendly vs. the Netherlands because of it.
Feilhaber picked up an ankle injury during AGF Aarhus' training session on Monday, and is undergoing scans to determine the extent of the injury. Aarhus manager Erik Rasmussen told Danish outlet Bold that Feilhaber was injured without any contact, and the best case scenario would see Feilhaber out for two weeks.
If Feilhaber can't play vs. the Netherlands on March 3, it could leave U.S. coach Bob Bradley with an interesting decision to make regarding his starting midfield. Ricardo Clark is still sidelined with a calf injury while Maurice Edu has been also battling his own injury issues. That could leave the door open for Jose Francisco Torres to earn a start alongside Bradley against the Dutch. Torres has not started for the United States since the team's 3-1 World Cup Qualifying loss to Costa Rica last June.
Who would you like to see start vs. the Dutch if Feilhaber is out? Hoping for a Bradley-Torres combo?
Share your thoughts below.
Haven’t we already seen enough Bradley-Feilhaber combo to know that it doesn’t work? I think each of them individually is fine, but as a pairing they are less than the sum of their parts.
lol
Considering Torres has barely gotten any playing time with the MNT I don’t see him starting the Netherlands game. He should certainly be available. In the 5 US MNT games in 2009 he was on the roster he didnt get any starts and only played twice. So he doesnt seem to be on Bradley’s top list. I wish he had gotten into the last game to show what he can do.
the first costa rica match or the second…i would think he redeemed himself (not that he needed to) with the second match…he is a good possessor of the ball, which is what we need….
I don’t think Torres-Bradley will work against a team like Netherlands but I guess it is worth a try especially if next in line is Beckerman.
No llores, man….Everyone should be back by the World Cup…and this is Paco’s big opportunity to prove that he can tear it up as a starter…….Sad about Benny though.
i’m thinking holden would get the call on the wing…torres plays the middle of the field…
This is REALLY depressing. I was so pumped for this world cup after all of the success in the Confed. We would have had the most depth and several players at top form if they weren’t injured. I’m not saying to I’m not excited for the US at this world cup, but I don’t think we’re going to have our best team out there, which is really sad. Looking at that list there are six people that could be starting if they were healthy. I’m sorry, but unless they get the best luck in the world with returning from injury in the next month followed by getting time and doing well in the next two months, US will not be sending an A team to the world cup. This is just an extremely pessimistic view on the situation we’re in right now.
This kid is the future.
Seen here channeling Nadia Comaneci:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIpZYvBG-8I&feature=player_embedded#
this sucks that we may not not have him for the dutch friendly but i am confident in what torres can do in the midfield so no worrys should come out from anyone
I don’t think Ras Kyle is the answer. It seems like a no brainer to start Gringo Torres and bring along Adu as his sub that never gets in the game.
Bring on SAM CRONIN!!!!!
i meant show
Ching….
Beckerman….
I’d rather see guzan up front before ching. If Beckerman goes to Amsterdam he’s probably not coming back to the states.
In all seriousness.
—————Altidore
—————–Donovan
Edu——Bradley——-Torres——Holden
Bocanegra——-Demerit——Spector—-Simek
subs- EJ, Beasley, Cooper, Bornstein, Guzan, Hahnemman, Goodson, and Demspey, Davies, and Onyewu on crutches so Sacha, Rogers and Beckerman wont shos.
I’m not a fan of Torres just because of his horrible showing in Costa Rica, but if he’s on form, he should be given the chance.
The USMNT may have lost Benny Feilhaber this week, but has been fortunate enough to regain the health of DaMarcus Beasley, Jose Francisco Torres, Stuart Holden, and Maurice Edu.
I think that Bradley needs to play next to a defensive midfielder against teams that will hold more possession. That way, we break up more attacks, so in a way you’re right. But against teams like Algeria and Slovenia, we’re looking to control the game and keep the ball, which is why Torres is in there. He has such great skill on the ball, makes himself available for the whole midfield as a passing outlet, and keeps the attack moving with his quick thinking in tight situations. Bradley will be allowed to get forward with Torres sitting deep making sure that the USA keeps the ball and has somebody to pass to. Bradley will do most of the physical heavy lifting by assisting on both sides of the ball. Think of the Pirlo-Gattuso or Pirlo-DeRossi pairing in central midfield for Italy and Milan. Those teams are typically possession holding teams and understand how to move and keep the ball. De Rossi, the more athletic, gets forward and back. For instance, his goal against USA. Pirlo floats around a bit more and tries to help the team keep the ball. Another example would be his assist on Rossi’s goal against USA
next weeks paper headline … “tim howard abducted by extraterrestrials, availability for world cup unknown”
The NT needs a good “limpia” from one of those Santeria ladies.
Not only do I believe Torres will be on the plane to SA but he will play an important role on this team during the group stages.
Agree, Castillo needs to play against Netherlands for two reasons: 1)A fair tryout…Bradley has seen Bornstein play more than any other player over the last 8 months and hes not going to show anything new…while Castillo is still an unknown. 2) If another injury occurs between now and June, they may need to rely on Castillo to play big mins and it would be a shame to waste a chance for him to gain valuable experience.
Now both Bradleys might have a reason to start their buddy Sasha. I still remember Torres being one of the better American players during the first half in Costa Rica but failed to apply full pressure on an attacker’s missed shot causing Michael to throw a brief fit of anger at Torres. Bob witnessed the grief Torres caused his son and subsequently subbed Torres for his fav Sasha.
Hopefully that’s history to coach Bradley and he starts the obvious selection…JOSE FRANCISCO TORRES!
Torres!
Play this kid already!
I think it’s the opposite – Bradley needs to play with a more defensive midfielder so he can get forward more. Luckily Torres does indeed generally seem to prefer sitting deep.
I like Benny.. i hate injury.
But.. I will be happy to see JFT get a shot at a team like Holland.
the best ‘finds’ of 08 we’re injury produced not Bob genius.. here’s thinking / hoping here’s another.
Plus if Paco is the deep MF it allows baby b. to push fwd which is his best role..
Yes, but did you see how Torres sat in a deep position against Costa Rica while Bradley made dynamic runs forward? They’re both very beneficial and key to the attack, at least within their own teams, but at the same, they influence the attack in different ways.
I’d go with this:
——————Altidore—-Ching——————
Donovan—————————————-Holden
——————–Torres—-Bradley—————-
Castillo———Bocanegra—-DeMerit———Spector
————————-Howard———————-
There won’t be any more chances to use Castillo so I wouldn’t be shocked to see him start against the Netherlands. At the least we should see Bornstein get the first half at left back and Castillo get the second half.
From what I’ve seen of Hollands play, they throw a lot of numbers in the attack quickly. This will seriously test how quickly Torres can release the ball from deep positions and set the USA attack in motion. Bradley will of course help, especially if his passing is as sharp as it’s been with Monchengladbach. People have been calling for us to play with an attacking midfielder next to Bradley against bigger teams for a while, this is a good chance to see if they’re right. Personally, while I think those people are wrong, I’m interested to see how this works out.
Shouldn’t have said “the only issue” should be “an issue”
If Benny cannot go, I suspect that Torres will get the call-up and start vs the Netherlands. I think the midfield will look something like :
Donavon, Torres, Bradley, Holden.
But I would not rule out a recall of Beasley. I’ve only seen two games with Edu for the Rangers and he really did not impress me. I have not seen Beasley so …
The only issue with both Bradley and Torres in the middle is that while each of them can defend, each really seems to think of himself as an attacker and can get caught in bad spots to defend from.
Forwards, the usual confusion. Backs the 4 listed above would be OK, hopefully dolo will be back to add some depth or at least a bit of choice.
Is Marcus Tracey totally out of the picture. Would love to see him in March get some minutes. He should be healthy by then
I go with Torres. It gives him the opportunity against better competion be for the three game send off. Lets hope everyone else is getting bitten by the injury bug so that we have a chance this summer.
I know. What is the next headline we will see? “Donovan bitten in thigh by rabid Liverpool dog, out twelve weeks for injections.”
Really excited to see Torres get a good look, as he has shown glimpses of being the best of the lot on the ball.
Depth chart when all are healthy:
Attacking/Possession-Bradley, Torres, Feilhaber, Beckerman, McCarthy
Defending- Jones, Edu, Clark, Cameron
Beckerman? No way. I’ll take a half-fit DMB or Adu over Beckerman any day.
I count the following as being currently injured from our likely 23 in SA:
Davies
Dempsey
Clark
Edu
Beasley (just returned)
Feilhaber
Jones (I know he hasn’t played for us yet)
Holden
Cherundolo
Gooch
Even if you take Beasley and Jones out of the equation, this is absolutely ridiculous!
If Holden is available, obviously play him before Rogers…
With injuries to Clark, Feilhaber, Edu, and Jermaine Jones…It is probable that Beckerman is at least called up for the Dutch friendly… If the injuries continue in the midfield…KB5 could very well find himself on the plane to South Africa.
This lineup isn’t that far-fetched. However, I would rather see Torres slot centrally for Beckerman, with Robbie Rogers playing out wide. Beckerman is serviceable but is simply not international quality.
Yea Beckerman? Comon…
Donovan on the left, Holden on the right, Torres and Bradley in the middle. Not sure what the status on Dolo is but I think he could be ready to go with at least a full 90 under his belt before the March 3 game. So I put Dolo on the right and Specs on the left
again, Torres should start if we believe in his defensive abilities
I am thinking those Mexican Voo doo dolls from the WC Qualifier are on a year time delay.
beckerman???
Let the hating begin…
Sad to see Benny get injured like this but it HAS to open the door for Torres to get the nod against the Dutch. With Dempsey being hurt, Holden trying to entrench himself at Bolton and Rico Clark battling injuries, who could he pick otherwise? This is not a game against Honduras or El Salvador, one in which you try out young new players. The game in March should be a measuring stick game to see where we are with all of our current injuries. I don’t see anyone else being more deserving of the start than Jose, and it looks as though Bob won’t have much else of a choice and will have to start him. With that said, here is (in MY opinion) a lineup I would like to see against Netherlands.
——-Altidore——-Ching——-
Torres—-Bradley—-Beckerman—-Donovan
Bornstein—-Boca—-Demerit—-Spector
———–Howard———-
Obviously, this is a lineup hurt by many injuries. If Dempsey is back healthy in time he slides into RW, Donovan to LW and Torres inside with Bradley while Beckerman is a sub. I don’t like Altidore and Ching up top together, but currently we are hurting for forward support. You could slide Findley or Cunningham in for Ching, but I favor him over both of them.
4real.
Paco. Duh.
DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT
This is RIDICULOUS.
Who let the MNT catch 2009Mets-itis?
JFT probably is the next best choice, though I’d like to see Edu if he’s healthy.
it’s ok, give torres a chance, we all know what benny can do.
this blows. again.
The hell? Do we have to start wrapping our players in bubble wrap soon?
Torres, Torres, Torres
Get well soon Benny